Monroe, Michigan, the largest city in Monroe County and its county seat, stands on the western shore of Lake Erie at the mouth of the River Raisin. Settled in 1785 and platted as Monroe in 1817, the community grew from the early French settlements of Frenchtown and Sandy Creek and became a focal point of the War of 1812, most notably the Battle of Frenchtown — now preserved as the River Raisin National Battlefield Park. The city is closely associated with George Armstrong Custer, whose childhood home, commemorative statue, and namesake institutions remain part of Monroe's civic identity. Through the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Monroe developed as an industrial and transportation center, home to the La-Z-Boy world headquarters and the Monroe Power Plant, one of the nation's largest coal-fired facilities. Today Monroe is a compact lakeside city defined by its historic downtown, its role in regional rail and highway networks, and its layered French, military, and industrial heritage. - AsNotedIn